Exhibition: Gustav Klimt / Josef Hoffmann Pioneers of Modernism

The Belvedere owns the world´s largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt. In autumn 2011, it will present this world-famous artist together with the congenial architect and designer Josef Hoffmann. Their intense collaboration, such in the Beethoven Exhibition at the Vienna Secession (1902) and the Stoclet Palace in Brussels (1905-12), set new standards in Europe when it comes to the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Numerous works, such as Klimt´s Portrait of Fritza Riedler, which clearly reflects Hoffmann´s characteristic hand, attest to the two pioneers´ mutual influence, which in this comprehensive exhibition is also explored with regard to their involvement in the Wiener Werkstätte.

Art has historically played a major role in society. The objects and themes on display deal with the artists who contributed to altering the way we perceive and understand the world by imagining change using the same forms. This will be the core of the exhibition, which is aimed at all audiences.

· Artifice and nature· Scientific realism· Idealistic action· Primitive passions· The volumes of the world· The modern movement· Abstractions· The Great War

Exhibition: Gustav Klimt in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birthday of Gustav Klimt on July 14, 2012, the Kunsthistorisches Museum will showcase its important wall paintings designed and executed by the celebrated painter and draughtsman.

In 1890, a year before the formal opening of the newly- erected Court Museum housing the Imperial art collections, Gustav Klimt, his younger brother, Ernst, and a friend and colleague, Franz Matsch, were commissioned to execute the series of paintings depicting important periods of European art, among them Ancient Egyptian as well as Ancient Greek and Roman art. This magnificent series is still displayed between the columns and above the arcades in the Main Staircase, about 12 m above the Entrance Hall.

A specially-built bridge spanning the width of the Main Staircase will offer visitors a close-up view of Klimt´s paintings on the north wall.

In addition, a temporary show in the Special Exhibition Gallery will present the evolution of the series, a seminal work in Klimt´s oeuvre around 1900. It will focus on Gustav Klimt´s "Ringstrassenperiode". Paintings and graphic works from the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, augmented by loans from public collections in Switzerland and Germany as well as from private collectors, will showcase Klimt´s oeuvre from his paintings for the Burgtheater to those commissioned for the Kunsthistorisches Museum to Klimt´s "golden period".

The series commences on 1 February with a presentation by Mireia Freixa, Head of the Art History Department at the University of Barcelona, and a lecture on cabinetmakers by Teresa-M. Sala, Professor of Art History at the University of Barcelona.

Click on the link below for further information (available only in Catalan).

Exhibition: The tunnels of the Historical Conclave of the Hospital de Sant Pau host a photo exhibition

The Historical Conclave of the Hospital de Sant Pau is hosting a new exhibition covering some of the most important historical moments of the construction of the Modernista complex. It also focuses on the restoration project which is currently underway. You can visit the exhibition by following the guided routes of "Sant Pau en obres" (Saint Paul Under Construction) which are offered every morning from Monday to Sunday.

The collection of snapshots comprise a selection of historical photographs and diverse reproductions of the original plans which Domènech i Montaner drew up by hand in the early 20th century. In this way, visitors can get an idea of the vast number of studies and trials the architect produced when designing the buildings in the Conclave while appreciating the ornamental elements that have made Sant Pau a world reference in Modernisme.

These photos illustrate the evolution the Conclave has undergone over the years and how the city´s physiognomy has also changed, especially the neighbourhoods of Guinardó and Sagrada Família.

The last part of the exhibition centres on the evolution of the renovation project. Among other aspects, it shows the changes that two of the pavilions have experienced, those that have now been fully renovated: Santa Apol·lònia (St Apollonia) and Sant Jordi (St George).You can also get a close-up view of life-size reproductions of Sant Pau´s most significant decorative elements: rosettes, dosserets, pinnacles and glazed-tile roofs. Furthermore, several information panels explain the laborious tasks being undertaken by artisans at work on Sant Pau to restore all these stone and pottery pieces, along with the windows and mosaics.

The Sant Pau International Project

The renovation work enables the recovery of Sant Pau´s heritage and artistic value. It opens the site to the city, preparing it to become a knowledge centre of reference worldwide, where diverse international, national and local institutions can work jointly to provide an answer to the challenges of the 20th century. Education, health and sustainability will be the main spheres of action, with a geographic space as its preferential area of reference: the Mediterranean.

The project to rehabilitate the Historical Conclave of Sant Pau has a budget of 105 million euros, financed mainly by contributions from the Operating Programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for Catalonia 2007-2013, the Spanish government, the Government of Catalonia, local administrations and the Fundació Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau.

Extension of the guided visit routes

The photo exhibition forms part of the "Sant Pau en obres" guided visits, included in the Barcelona Modernisme Route which the Institut del Paisatge Urbà (Urban Landscape Institute) at the Barcelona City Council is organising.

These guided visits start at the Sant Jordi Pavilion, which is now fully restored. Since late July, visitors have also been able to stroll through one section of the kilometre of tunnels where the new exhibition is installed.

Thanks to the opening of this new tourist route, visitors also take a short stroll down the Conclave´s central avenue, where they can check on the progress of the renovation work on the Central Pavilion (former operating theatres) and the Administration Pavilion, the most important building in Domènech i Montaner´s architectural conclave.

The guided visit finalises with a look at the Conclave church, the Portal de Santa Marta, the exterior of the Convent and the Sant Rafael Pavilion, in which visitors can appreciate its original interior space.